In this article, I’ll look at whether or not you need a guide for Ben Nevis, (or any other mountainous activity), mainly because Ben Nevis is my local “hill’ and it’s a question that gets asked a lot. I’ll also chat about if you decide you do need a guide for Ben Nevis, what to look for and hopefully help you make an informed decision when getting outdoors. As I am based in Scotland, this shall be taken from a British perspective, other countries will be a bit different no doubt (most of them don’t have a Ben Nevis…).
Do you need a guide to climb Ben Nevis?
This is a question which gets asked a lot on many different forums and Facebook groups at a fairly consistent rate. The simple answer is; “it depends”. Which I realise, is not simple at all. The answers which you see on the discussions about if you need a guide for Ben Nevis, range from “absolutely; never go without one!” to “I did it crawling on my back in an hour and half, hungover, you’ll be fine”. The real answer, as you can imagine, is a little bit more nuanced.
When employing the services of a guide or leader, you are hiring a professional. I like to think of it the same way in which you would consider hiring any professional service, be that plumber, architect, joiner, accountant, lawyer etc… in that when considering hiring these services we look at our own experience in the given area. Then look at the job in hand, and figure out if we can do it ourselves, or if we’d be better off getting someone whose profession it is to do it fo us. There’s also option ‘c’ which many will do, which is; try it ourselves first, then, when we muck it up, call in the pro’s. The key difference with a lot (not all) of these jobs, and the outdoors is that; the worst that happens is you have spend your lifesavings fixing the massive hole you put in the house. The worst thing which can happen in the mountains is; you die. I think it’s important to point out that even hiring in a professional in the outdoors, there is still a chance of this, but hopefully it is much more reduced.
Of course, there are many more reasons to hire a guide other than, “you’ll die otherwise”, especially as this statement alone is simply not true. Thousands of folk each year walk up Ben Nevis, without a guide, and survive to tell the tale. There are those that unfortunately do not make it back, but it’s impossible to say how many would have survived if they’d been guided. There are far more people who get picked up by Moutain Rescue teams (who are all volunteers) for being underprepared, ill equipped and lacking experience. There are more people again, who, slog their guts up, have a terrible time and vow never to walk up another hill again, let alone a mountain. All of which is avoidable if paying for a professional service.
Now comes the tricky bit, self awareness. We all know deep down if we are prepared for a task or not. I can probably put together some IKEA furniture, but anything much more complex I’m starting to struggle. This comes down to my experience (or lack there of) in carpentry and the amount of furniture I’ve put together in the past. This differs from person to person as all our experiences do, by virtue of us being unique individuals. We can apply the same process for walking/climbing/scrambling/paddling to decide whether we need guiding or not.
Couples would do well remembering this last point. One spouse/partner may be very much more experienced/confident than the other. It’s very rarely the less experienced persons idea to do a big adventurous day and if it is, they will usually put in some planning and training to make themselves feel more comfortable. However it is very often I see people being dragged up mountains or down rivers, in places they shouldn’t be, with their level of experience, by their beloved, having a terrible time. We may not need guiding but our loved ones might appreciate it!
I would argue, the walk up Ben Nevis is more complicated than IKEA furniture. I would say it’s more akin, in summer, to building a bespoke set of built in wardrobes. In winter, the same, just blindfolded and in a freezer. Now of course it does depend on the day you go up, whether the weather is calm, and clear, or if there’s hundreds of people doing it on the same day or, you’re all by yourself. These questions will only be answered when (unless you live in Fort William and can choose your day) you rock up at the car park, mind already made up. But the answer of do you need a guide for Ben Nevis can ultimately only be answered by you. In terms of helping make that decision I’ve put together a skills checklist below. If you can answer “yes” to all of them then you’re probably going to be alright, if not, then maybe hiring a guide wouldn’t be such a bad idea. When making you’re final decision also consider the added value you get from hiring a profesional; knowing how far you’ve got left, pacing the day, interesting facts about local flora and fauna (“how many pianos are there on the summit!?“), you should get a lot more than just an expensive arrow when employing someone!
Skills checklist to answer if you need a guide for Ben Nevis:
- Have you climbed a mountain in Scotland before?
- Have you got/do you know the correct equipment to take for a day in the mountains?
- Have you got/do you know the correct clothing to wear and bring with you for a day in the mountains?
- Can you use a map and compass in zero visibility?
- In winter*: Can you use a map and compass in zero visibility and can’t tell which way is up/down?
- Have you got (the right) map and compass?
- Do you know what to do if you or someone in your party injures themselves in the mountains?
- Can you pace yourself and your group so everyone enjoys themselves over an 8+ hour day?
- Can you make, and keep, the decision to turn around, even though you’re not at the top if needed?**
- Can you set up appropriate “late back” procedures and trust the person at the other end to follow through with these correctly?
- Do you know the good spots to fill your bottle up from, have a snack or get away from the crowds?
- In winter: can you use/do you know what the avalanche forecast is?
*Winter is a different ball game again, there are far more things to know about than just how to put one foot in front of the other. If you’ve never been out in Scottish winter, it’s definitely best to hire a guide for a day, either to lead you up or teach you the basics of operating in the winter mountains. We can offer this here.
**this is a point which is often overlooked. When hiring a guide you are hiring someone to get you home safe, this does not necessarily mean that you complete the objective of the day, but does mean you have a chance of doing it again some time. The mountains will be here long after we’re gone, you are paying for a guides decision making as much as anything else.
If you’ve read this and decided you would like guiding then please check out our website here, but also continue reading to make an informed choice on who you hire. If you’ve decided you don’t need guiding, great, I hope you have a spectacular day! However if you’d like to try something slightly more adventurous then have a look here and see what we can do to make your day even better.
Not all guides are equal and there are different horses for a whole range of courses, hopefully below, I’ll help un-fog some of the difficulties of choosing who or what to hire.
What is a guide?
In our simplest form, a guide is someone who will take you from A to B, and back to A, in exchange for money. There is, of course, a massive range of what you could expect to get from your hard earned cash, depending on what you’re after and who you pay. Anyone can (and will) call themselves a guide, it is not a protected term like “Doctor”, so it is worth knowing what you’re paying for when employing a guide. It is also possible to be insured for just about anything if you’re willing to pay a premium, so seeing a tag line of “insured guide”, doesn’t necessarily safeguard you. This is at least true for people working with adults, if working with children it is law that folk hold the correct qualifications and safeguards, which is at least a little comforting.
In the mountains there are a couple of important distinctions to make when talking about Mountain G/guides (not a typo, big or small ‘G’ makes a difference). The first is what, or who, you’re looking at/talking to when contacting a guide for their services.
If you have decided to book in the UK, then there are some terms and qualifications that it’s worth knowing about:
A Mountain Guide (big G) is someone, or should be, who is a member of the International Federation of Mountain Guides. This qualifies the person to guide/coach/lead/instruct in mountainous areas across the world, and is the very pinnacle of mountain based qualifications internationally. The test to become qualified is long, hard and requires a dedication to the sport above everything else. The people who hold this award are extremely experienced and can usually be found in Chamonix, hauling clients around the alps, although a fair few live and work in the UK.
There are then the British based mountain qualifications. Holders of which (myself included) have undergone trainings and assessments, which qualify them to work in the U.K. We’ll look at these now:
Mountaineering and Climbing Instructors have been trained and assessed to lead, coach and instruct in the mountains over a range of disciplines. These include; mountaineering, scrambling (the ground between climbing and walking), lead climbing, multi pitch rock climbing and teaching navigation. If you would like guiding on a classic ridge line such as Tower Ridge or the Aonach Eagach, in summer, these are the people you need to look for. If you’re looking to do this in winter, you need a Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor or a IFMG Guide.
Not all but many Mountaineering and Climbing Instructors are members of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors. Committing to be a member of the association requires continued professional development, provides support and requires maintaining a high standard of professionalism. If seeking instruction or guiding in the mountains, look for the AMI logo (below) and be ensured of top class instruction.
Mountain Leaders have been trained and assessed to lead groups in the mountains if they’re walking on non-graded ground (in this context graded ground starts when you may need to use your hands to go up or down, or in winter, when the angle gets beyond a walk in gullies). Summer Mountain Leaders can lead you in mountainous terrain in summer conditions (when you don’t need Ice axe and crampons). Winter Mountain Leaders can do the same but can also do it in winter and give basic instruction on how to use ice axes and crampons.
That’s great, but what do the qualifications require and should I care?
To gain these qualifications takes years of experience. Even at the entry level of Summer Mountain Leader, to get on a training course you need to have logged a minimum of 20 Quality Mountain days across the UK. There is then a 6 day training course, followed by a consolidation period, before presenting yourself for the 5 day assessment with a further minimum of 20 Quality Mountain days. By the time a candidate has finished an assessment course, they will have had to have logged (recorded) a total of 40 quality mountain days, but this is usually nearer 60. To get on a Winter Mountain Leader course, you need to hold the summer leader, and have logged 20 quality winter mountain days, again minimum. For assessment you need 20 more quality days over a minimum of three winter seasons. But again the total is likely nearer 60-70 days. So taking this all into account if employing a Winter Mountain Leader you are looking at someone, if they’ve “just” passed, having spent roughly 150 days in the mountains as a minimum. Likely once you’ve gained the summer award you will have worked in summer in the mountains so that total is probably more like 200 days.
For Mountaineering and Climbing Instructors, for training you need to have held the Summer Mountain Leader and have logged 20 days leading groups, have lead a minimum of 30 named multi-pitch rock climbs at a VS 4c or above (if you don’t understand climbing grades, this is probably best left to another day!) and 10 sport climbs at 6a or above. For assessment you then need 20 more VS rock climb leads, 20 more days leading groups in the mountains and 20 days teaching rock climbing. Again these are all minimums and by the time people present themselves for assessment they have likely completed many more than this. For the Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor you have to hold, and have logged 20 days using the Winter Mountain Leader and Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, have led Grade III and above, led at least 10 Grade II routes and 10 Grade III routes. For assessment you must log a minimum of 10 days leading in winter and 5 days climbing at Grade III and above. So again when employing these people you are employing a huge amount of experience and can be safe in the knowledge they have been formally assessed to a very high standard.
Working out which qualification the person leading you needs if you need a guide for Ben Nevis is hopefully now a bit clearer. Of course, if you’re an adult, you can pay Bob down the pub to lead you if he says he can/you want to. An informed decision is always the best one!
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Hope to see you on the hill soon!